The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1947 Chevy 2-Ton COE 1st Series Restoration

I installed the brake booster. I had it rebuilt and when I was talking to the guy at the rebuild shop, he asked if I found it at the bottom of a lake. He thought it was pretty bad. I guess I didn't know any better. They did an excellent job and it looks like new. I also installed a new master cylinder. I ran the brake lines, vacuum advance, and fuel lines also. I used nickel-copper line for most of it and it sure makes bending so much easier.

I took the differential cover off to inspect the gears. They seemed to be in good shape and were clean. I cleaned up the cover and sealed it back up. I filled it with oil and marked that off my list.

Why is it that when you need to be working on the important things, you decide to work on something that really isn't essential to get the project done.
That's where I was when I decided to restore the horns. I don't think they're original and I really wasn't even sure if they worked. I cleaned most of the crud off and started taking them apart. I wasn't really sure how far I'd go, but ended up finding out it wasn't too difficult. It looked like the mechanicals were in decent shape. The wiring was pretty bad. All the insulation was gone. I cleaned them up in the blast cabinet and then treated them with AfterBlast. I had several colors of powder for powder coating, so I
decided to go with red, white and blue. Once I got it all put together, it looked pretty good.

The truck was originally 6volt, so I didn't know what would happen when using 12volts on them. Let's just say I was glad I had my hearing protection on! It surprised me how loud they were. I figure I won't be using them very often, so I'll take the chance they'll last as long as I need them to.

Maybe we need a diversion every now and then to have some fun and take the pressure off the main project. I dunno. I'm sure it won't be the only time.

Hey, that stuff all needs to be done eventually. I know what you mean about a diversion. I put some tough body work aside for a while and worked on stuff that was easier.

Nice job on the horns.

So, finally getting back to this...

I worked on the air cleaner. When I first opened it up, it had a big mouse nest inside of it. I couldn't get it cleaned it up because of the metal mesh. I removed the mesh and decided to replace the guts with a non oil bath filter.

I had various parts of things I've kept over the years as "resources". I bought a new K&N filter that fit over the intake tube, but I wanted to make it look as original as possible. Even though this is under the cab, I knew what it would look like. I used a piece of UHMW plastic as a spacer and then used various fittings to adapt the K&N. I sealed this inside the original filter housing and secured it with screws.

Once it was all put together, I mounted it and attached the hose. It all turned out pretty good, I think.

The bumper mounting brackets had rivets in them, but some were broken. The bolts that mounted the bumper weren't original either, some were square headed instead of carriage head. A few of the bumper mounting studs in the frame were broken off, so I'm thinking the bumper was hit at some point in the past.

I was able to drill into the old broken off studs and used a bit if heat to loosed them up and back them out.

I cleaned up the bumper mounting brackets with my media blaster and them powder coated them myself. I took the bumper to a local shop that blasted it and powder coated it. It was too big for me to do. I think it all turned out pretty good.

When I reattached it all, I used some short bolts in place of the original rivets. They're not very noticeable under the front grille.

Very nice work on both of those projects!

The fuel tank needed a good cleaning. I used some rust remover in the tank. I also put in a short piece of chain and taped the openings shut. I rotated the tank around in all directions and let it sit for a couple days.
After that, I rinsed it out with water and let it dry. After it was dry I used some Red-Kote fuel tank liner. I rotated it all around to coat the whole interior. I then turned it upside down to drain out the excess and let it dry. I think it worked out pretty good. I didn't have any problems with it plugging the fuel line outlet.

How many gallons does the COE tank hold?

Hmmm. Good question. I haven't filled it, but I could measure it and come close.
I'll try to remember to do that.

I didn't measure it, but the manual says the fuel tank is 18 gallons.

https://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1942_47/4247csm004.htm

The engine cover was the next thing I worked on. I used a wire wheel on an angle grinder to clean it up and remove all the paint. The inside of the cover looked like it was asbestos, so I tried not to mess with it any. I left it in there, so I didn't try to blast it or try to powder coat it. I used a solvent to clean up the surface and then primed and painted it with rattle can gloss black. It wasn't too bad.

There were various small parts that I powder coated black. It was kind of a random assortment of parts. Several were linkages for the parking brake, front license plate bracket, and a couple driving lights. When I got the truck, it only had one driving light on it. The other was was broken off. Someone had backed into the truck and broken off the driving light and smashed up the grill. The remaining driving light was pretty rusty, so I knew I didn't want to reuse it. I happened to find a nice pair of lights at a local swap meet that looked very close to the original style. The mouting brackets weren't the same, but I fabricated new brackets. The lights were in good shape, but the paint was chipped here and there. I took them completely apart and media blasted the painted parts to clean them up.

I gathered the light housings and the other parts and powder coated them. It's easier to do a bunch at once if possible.

The original wheels were in good condition, so I had them blasted and powder coated. A local shop did them since I can't cure anything that big. I ended up buying a new set of front tires but the same guy who I bought the truck from gave me a set of rears that were in near new condition. I had to buy new liners and tubes, but it all came together really well.

No more wheeling the frame around on a cart!

Next up was the driveshaft. I installed new U-joints and painted it. Then I got it installed. Nothing too exciting here, I guess.

How much did it cost to have all the wheels cleaned up and coated?

I think they did all six for about $300 total.
That was from blasting to finish.

I looked at what it would take to rebuild the instrument cluster, but i decided I'd rather have a professional do it. I had them use a black background for a higher contrast. They also replaced the oil gauge with a higher pressure because I replaced the splash lubrication engine with a full pressure engine from 1961. One thing I thought was pretty interesting was that there is a two speed gearbox on the speedometer input. This is because of the two speed rear axle. I also got new sending units for the gauges because of the conversion to 12 volts. I had the speedometer set to zero, but now I'm second guessing that decision. It would have been interesting to have the original mileage on it. Of course, that's assuming the mileage shown was accurate, who knows? As far as I can tell, it looks to have been about 35,000 miles or so. That doesn't seem like very many miles.

Looks like a nice job. Who did it?

What does the green "S" mean? And what are those plugs sticking out from what looks like the light tubes?

My guess is that S is the connection to the appropriate Sending unit.

I had Bob's Speedometer do the rebuild. They did an excellent job.
https://www.bobsspeedometer.com/

Yes, the S is for the sending unit. You send 12v to the gauge unit at the + terminal, then the S goes to the sending unit. The sending unit is a variable resistance, so it changes the current through the gauge to deflect the needle. You have to make sure you have a good ground on the sending unit side.

The plugs are just upgraded light sockets for the dash lights.

I cleaned up the rear hubs as best I could. I didn't get the hub off the drum, but when I thought about it, there probably wasn't much point in doing that anyway. I installed new wheel studs and got new nuts since some of them had smashed threads and weren't in good shape. I took the brake shoes to a local tractor repair shop and had them reline them. I replaced the brake cylinders and cleaned up all the internal parts. The wheel bearings were in good condition, so I just cleaned them up and packed in new grease. Once it was assembled, the brake cylinder ends were rotated to adjust the brake retraction just until there was a small amount of drag. I didn't do anything to the parking brake cable other than free it up and try to clean it up. I didn't replace it or pull the cable out of the sheath to clean it. I suppose that's something that I can do later if it becomes an issue.

I removed the steering column and cleaned it up and repainted it. There isn't really any play in the steering box, so I just left it alone.

The ball on the pitman arm, however, was a different matter. It was starting to get undercut and I didn't want to have that come off while driving! That would be a little too exciting for me. I ground off the back side that was mushroomed like a rivet, then pressed it out. I got a new replacement one and pressed it in. I then welded the backside to retain it. When that was complete, I re-installed the steering column.

I removed the tie rod and drag link and cleaned them up. I totally disassembled the drag link and cleaned it up and then put it back together. Once I reassembled everything, it all worked nice and smooth.

That steering arm ball was pristine compared to one I replaced. I did both the one on the pitman arm and the steering arm on the spindle. That's something you don't want to have break on you for sure.

The radiator was next on the task list. I took it out of the mounting bracket and found a surprise! Inside was a crusty, dirty radiator cap. Apparently someone dropped it between the radiator and the bracket and then couldn't retrieve it. It kind of makes you think about that person way back when and what frustration they had when that happened. There's a story there that's lost to time now.

I took the radiator to a radiator shop about an hour away. Seems like radiator shops are much fewer and farther between now. While I was there, I watched him re-solder a tank onto the core of someone else's radiator. It was actually pretty interesting. Of course, he made it look easy. Mine ended up needing a new core, so that was put in. I'm kind of surprised there is one available, but I guess you just have to match up the dimensions of the bare core, so it's probably pretty universal.

I media blasted the bracket and then treated it with Eastwood Rust Converter, then when that dried, I used the Rust Encapsulator. I then painted it with Chassis Black paint. It looks pretty good, not amazing, but pretty good.

I put it all back together and it looked much better.

The showiest part of the truck is the grille. When I first got the truck, there was a tree growing up between the grille and the front bumper. Fortunately, it didn't damage anything. Unfortunately, there was damage from an earlier accident. At least all the pieces were there. The two missing ones were in the cab, safe from getting lost.
I sent the pieces out to have them straightened and polished up. I had the cast pieces re-chromed. I actually found the clips that hold the "teeth" to the grille from a vendor. I was afraid I'd be stuck trying fabricate those myself, not something I was looking forward to.

Farmdog - That grille looks outstanding! Well worth the effort to resurrect it. Maybe you would share your source for the clips so others will know where to go look if they need them too?

Amazing restoration!

Thanks for the grille comments. I got the grille clips from Jim Carter
https://oldchevytrucks.com/
They have regular pickup clips also.

I had the cab work done by a local restoration shop.
https://brustyhole.com/

They repaired a few rust spots and reinforced the back of the cab. I had them do the cab, doors, fenders and grille sheet metal.
They also did all those pieces that make a cab go together, around the windows, floor, etc.

Sometimes these projects take a while...

My shop is enclosed, but I do enough other things in there and also live on a gravel road, so things tend to get dirty just sitting around.
I pulled it out and gave it a bit of a wash. I didn't use very high pressure and I didn't go gung ho on detailing. I just needed it to be better than it was. It was also kind of a morale booster.

Looking great Farmdog! Morale and a motivation booster me thinks!

I worked on various small parts. There are a ton, of course, this is just a sample. i blasted the parts to get the old paint and rust off as best as I could. Then I powder coated them. i could only do items that fit in my oven, but that was quite a few. I only painted the back of the gas pedal. I didn't want to mess up the rubber on it since it was in fair shape.

Working on the brake, fuel and vacuum lines ended up being easier than I thought. I think I heard about the CuNi (copper - nickel) lines from a few posts here on Stovebolt. It seemed like the perfect way to replace the old lines. I had worked with the steel lines before and it was a real pain. Trying to bend it without kinking and getting the bends just right wasn't easy. I have a few different styles of benders and they are all a pain.

I bought a few rolls of each size I needed. I used the old lines as a pattern for the new ones and did several test fits. I was glad I had not assembled much yet because I needed that open space to maneuver the lines around and get them in place. If things were assembled, I'd probably just have to do it in pieces and use unions to connect them. Bending the CuNi lines was pretty easy, even bending by hand worked pretty good without causing kinks. I ran new lines for all the brake lines and fuel lines. I ran new lines for the vacuum shift rear axle along the frame rails, but the really curvy lines going to the cab I used the originals. They were only slightly covered in surface rust, so they were actually in good shape. I ended up using a steel line for the vacuum advance on the distributor since i already had that on hand. It was a real small diameter and I didn't need much of it.

Nice job on the fuel tank. I bought a new one for my 3100. Easier and not much more $$ than the products needed to clean and coat the old one. I suspect the COE tank is not reproduced, so that was not an option.

I struggled to get the steering wheel off. In fact, it was such a pain that I couldn't get it off when I removed the cab, so I just worked around it. I finally got to the point that I had to do something about it. I couldn't use a normal steering wheel puller since the horn switch contact was right in the middle. I had made a slide hammer a few years back, so I adapted it to the steering wheel puller I had. I whacked it for a while and realized I needed a new approach. i was afraid something was going to break.

The next method I came up with was to thread the nut on just flush with the shaft, then i used a socket that rested on the side of the nut and cleared the horn contact. I set the wheel puller to pry against that and tightened it down. Again, I was afraid of breaking something, so I tapped the puller a bit with a hammer and used some PB Blaster. I let it sit a few days. Each day I tapped it a bit, checked tightness and sprayed it some more. After a few days I just thought that I had to go for it. I very cautiously turned the screw on the puller and then BANG!! It popped off.

As a side note, I thought it was quite interesting that there was just a single key with a tapered shaft. All the things I've been reading about other trucks said there would be a splined shaft.

Once i got it off, I ground out the cracks with a Dremel. I may have gotten a little too carried away, but I've heard you need to make the cracks big enough to get the filler in. I used some PC7 epoxy and gooped it in. After a few days of it drying, I came back and filed, ground, and sanded it smooth. I can't say I did the best job and you can tell it was repaired, but I got it done and it's the best I know how to do. (There's a reason i don't do body work.)

I then used some gloss black paint and painted it with several coats. Overall, it was a lot better than it was and I like how it turned out.

After I cleaned up the transmission inside and out, I found that it was leaking quite a bit. I took it apart again and sealed it with some grey RTV. I went around the bolts and put some where shafts went through the case. I gooped extra on the outside of the reverse gear shaft. When I refilled it, it was much better.

Not a big project, but something that would be very annoying if not taken care of.

Exciting day!!

It's time to mount the cab. I got a cab mouting kit, it's interesting how it's set up. Like the cab is designed to bounce at the back. The front two positions are bolted down pretty solid, then as you go back each location allows for more movement. I suppose that was learned over years of building trucks.

i used my hoist with a C-channel beam on the end of the chain. i built hooks that I padded well that hooked under the roof at the door frame. This actually seemed to be a good balance point.

It went on pretty easily, just have to be careful and don't get in a hurry. Although, it was MUCH easier to get it on with the steering wheel removed. The cab came off with the steering wheel in place.

It actually made me feel like I'm making progress! That's a huge step forward in this project after years of seeing the chassis pretty much bare.

It truly is a milestone, mating the cab with the frame. It looks awesome and you should be proud of what you accomplished. Your work and attention to detail is amazing. Time to celebrate your accomplishments!

I was wondering about the wood blocks. Is there not an alternative that might be more durable?